When Shaquille O’Neal went to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996, he knew he was about to become the NBA’s highest-paid player, but didn’t know what would come after.
O’Neal appeared as a guest on “Full Send Podcast,” where he detailed the events that resulted in him signing with the Lakers, while meeting with Hall of Fame general manager Jerry West.
“Jerry West met me in a hotel. He said, ‘I got some good news and some bad news,” O’Neal said. “I said, ‘What’s the bad news?’ He said, ‘I can’t get you the $150 [million] you asked for, but I can get you $120 million, and I got some movie deals signed up for you that’ll come up to $180 million.”
O’Neal said that after he heard the number, he told West, “S—t let me see that contract,” and couldn’t believe seeing the figure on the paper.
Once the ink dried on the paper, O’Neal was about to begin an eight-year stretch on one of the most dominant eras of basketball.
“And as I’m signing, he puts his hand on my shoulder. He said, ‘Let me tell you something, I just got this kid; in two or three years, you and him are going to win a lot of championships,” O’Neal said. “I’m like, yeah, okay, because I’m trying to sign. He was talking about Kobe.”
O’Neal and Bryant went on to become one of the greatest duos to grace the game of basketball as the two went on to three-peat NBA championships from 2000-2002.
O’Neal was the Finals MVP in all three of those series and was also the league MVP in 2000, when he averaged 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game.
The chemistry between O’Neal and Bryant was simple. O’Neal did the dirty work, while Bryant showed the flash.
In the playoffs, teams struggled to contain the two as Bryant would average 22.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game while playing alongside O’Neal.
The marriage of Bryant and O’Neal eventually ended in divorce when O’Neal left the Lakers and joined the Miami Heat in 2004.
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